I’m not entirely sure how you ask strangers on the internet for money without sounding completely ridiculous, so I guess I’m just going to tell you the truth.

That’s my daughter and me in the picture. She just graduated, and in a few days I’m supposed to be driving her from Alberta to Colorado to start Bible college.

I’m ridiculously proud of her.

I’m also currently trying to figure out how the heck I’m going to afford to get her there.

And that’s the very short version of why I’m finally doing something I’m really not good at:

Asking for help.

The longer version starts about 14 years ago.

I’m a mom of three. When my marriage ended, my son was almost 4 and my girls were 7 and 8. I’d spent about eight years primarily being Mom, and suddenly I was starting over and trying to figure out how to support three little kids.

Financially, I started that new life already behind.

During our separation, my ex had told me I could continue receiving the child benefit. Then things were changed on his end without my knowledge, and I ended up owing a significant amount of that money back.

When I confronted him about it, his response was essentially, “Well, otherwise that would have been fraud.”

So… that was a fun way to start over.

By the time everything was sorted out, I was roughly $15,000 in the hole.

Then came lawyer bills.

And more debt.

But I had three kids depending on me, so I did what I knew how to do: I kept going.

I went back to school for hairstyling and makeup and graduated with honours.

I was pretty proud of myself.

Then I discovered something they don’t exactly put in giant letters on the school brochure:

Hairdressers don’t necessarily make very much money.

So I worked.

I’ve driven school buses. I’ve driven Access-A-Ride buses for people with disabilities. I’ve been the shuttle driver for a retirement home. I’ve worked random jobs and taken opportunities wherever I could find them because the bills still had to be paid and my kids still needed to be taken care of.

Eventually, I decided to take another shot at creating a better future for us.

I trained in paramedical tattooing and started my own business.

I genuinely believed I could make it work.

Unfortunately, there were two fairly significant problems.

I lived in a small town where almost nobody knew what paramedical tattooing even was…

And, if I’m being completely truthful, I suck at marketing.

The business failed.

That one hurt.

Not only because I’d worked incredibly hard for something that didn’t work out, but because I came out the other side with roughly another $30,000 in business debt.

I’ve spent years trying to keep everything afloat. I’ve paid bills with credit cards when there wasn’t enough money. I’ve shuffled things around. I’ve paid interest on top of interest. I’ve worked and tried new things and made some good decisions and, admittedly, some pretty terrible ones.

Today, between the business debt, a maxed-out $12,500 personal line of credit, credit cards, collections and all the interest that’s accumulated along the way, I’m carrying roughly $80,000 in debt.

Typing that number makes me slightly nauseous.

And yet, somehow, those three little kids grew up while I was busy trying to keep all the plates spinning.

Now my daughter is heading off to college.

My daughter has lived in a small town her whole life, and this is a pretty incredible opportunity for her. She’s going to a Bible college where she’ll be surrounded by people who share her faith. She wants to grow as a person, grow in her relationship with God, have an adventure and hopefully make some amazing memories while she’s at it.

I want that for her more than I can explain.

I don’t want the financial hole I’ve spent years trying to climb out of to be the reason she doesn’t get to have this experience.

And right now, instead of simply being excited about taking my daughter to college, I’m calculating tuition, supplies, travel, gas and how much room is left on credit cards that are already maxed.

So here I am.

Asking complete strangers on the internet for help.

It’s uncomfortable.

But I’ve spent a lot of years trying to do everything myself, and I’ve finally realized that maybe asking for help isn’t the worst thing in the world.

If this fundraiser raised $5,000, it would make an enormous difference immediately. I could get my girl to Colorado, get the things she needs to start school and make the trip without worrying whether I have enough money to put gas in the car.

That alone would lift an incredible weight off my shoulders.

If it reached $15,000, I could do all of that AND clear most of my credit-card debt and collections.

That would mean actual breathing room.

It would mean money I earn could start going toward moving forward instead of constantly trying to catch up.

And if, by some completely ridiculous twist of internet fate, this went beyond that, every additional dollar would go toward the business loan, my maxed line of credit and finally digging out from underneath the rest of the debt.

I’m not expecting somebody to magically show up and erase $80,000 worth of problems.

Although, I mean…

If you’re out there, mysterious wealthy internet person, I’m certainly not going to argue with you.

But that’s not really what I’m asking for.

I could just really use a break.

I’ve made mistakes.

I’ve tried things that didn’t work.

I’ve trusted people I probably shouldn’t have trusted.

I’ve made financial decisions I’d absolutely make differently if I had the chance.

But I’ve also worked my butt off.

I’ve raised three kids. I went back to school and graduated with honours. I’ve driven buses, shuttled seniors, cut hair, started a business, watched that business fail, picked myself back up and kept going.

And I’m still trying.

I stumbled across the idea that sometimes complete strangers help complete strangers simply because something about their story connects with them.

I have absolutely no idea if mine will.

But I figured… what exactly do I have to lose by trying?

So, this is my story.

If something in it connects with you and you’re in a position to help, thank you.

Seriously.

Whether it’s $10, $100 or some completely bonkers amount that makes me stare at my phone wondering if there’s been a mistake, I will be incredibly grateful.

And if you can’t donate but somehow help this story reach someone who can, that matters too.

I don’t need someone to rescue me.

I think I just need enough of the weight taken off my shoulders that all the work I’m already doing can finally start moving me forward instead of just keeping me from sinking.

And right now, the first thing I want to do with that breathing room is get my girl to Colorado and watch her start the next chapter of her life. ❤️